British passengers are experiencing enormous airport queues due to staff shortages and high demands. Research shows that 2 in 3 airports in Europe have several flight delays and huge security queues are adding more stress to holidaymakers than ever before.
While people were previously recommended to arrive 2 hours before their flights to check in their luggage, pass security and wait comfortably for the plane to board, now they are required to arrive almost 3 hours early and usually only just make it in time for boarding.
While there isn’t much you can control about a delayed or cancelled flight, you can certainly improve the queuing situation and give yourself more peace of mind. To help with this, travel agency, eShores have shared their best tips to avoid airport queuing for hours.
- Research the airlines with the best fast-track options
The best and fastest way to skip queues in the airport is to get a fast track with your ticket. Some airlines offer the fast-track option for as little as £5, enabling you to skip through the check-in queue, the security queue and the flight boarding queue. The fast-track tickets are often limited and they go on a first come first served basis – so the quicker you can book it the better!
- Speak to several members of staff
Airport staff communication may not always be perfect. If you know you paid for a fast-track ticket and security staff tell you otherwise, make sure to consult with at least one more staff member. Sometimes the validity of these tickets can be overlooked by staff that try to keep everyone in line, so definitely talk to other members of staff to avoid queueing needlessly,
- Avoid check-in bags
For longer holidays, you may have more things to carry that will not fit in a small carry-on bag. However, if you think you can fit most of your essentials in a bag you can take on your flight, we’d certainly recommend you do this. Checking in baggage means you’ll need to arrive at the airport earlier, adding an extra queue to your waiting time. Airlines like Ryanair, for example, not only allow you to bring 10kg luggage (for a small additional cost), but this package also comes with a priority ticket which lets you skip the security queue.
- Fly from smaller airports
While we know this may not always be an option, choose a smaller airport during peak travel times if you can. A smaller airport has fewer flights boarding around the same time which automatically makes the queues for both security and luggage check-in faster.
- Have all your documents ready
If you fly to a country requiring a negative Covid test to enter, ensure you have all your paperwork ready before you get to the airport, as this is likely to get checked before boarding. The same applies to checking in before the flight and having all the passports and travel documents ready before arriving.
- Try the twilight check in
A few airports and airlines across the UK allow passengers to check in their luggage the night before so that they don’t have to queue for hours before the flight. Passengers with early morning flights will now have 24 hours before their flights to drop in their big suitcases and have a more stress-free boarding.
Previously, another great tip was to fly during early hours of the morning or mid-week because the airports tend to be less crowded during that time. However, with these peak times of travel airports are busy no matter what time of the day or week, so make sure to take in our tips and you should have much smoother boarding.
